TED Tech - podcast cover

TED Tech

From the construction of virtual realities to the internet of things to the watches on our wrists—technology's influence is everywhere. Its role in our lives is evolving fast, and we're faced with riveting questions and tough challenges that sit at the intersection of technology and humanity. Listen in every Friday, with host, journalist Sherrell Dorsey, as TED speakers explore the way tech shapes how we think about society, science, design, business, and more.


Follow Sherrell on Instagram @sherrell_dorsey and on LinkedIn @sherrelldorsey

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Episodes

What’s next for immersive storytelling? | Mark Grimmer

"New possibilities for storytelling are emerging faster than at any other time in history," says film producer Mark Grimmer. With an immersive approach to art exhibitions, he shares several multidisciplinary projects — including a kaleidoscopic exhibit of David Bowie's world-changing career and a luminous, interactive show that brings visitors inside the paintings of David Hockney — and shows what's possible when ideas collide. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! ...

Nov 15, 202415 min

The TED AI Show: An AI chatbot that talks back w/ ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode

When it comes to preparing for an interview or making an important life decision, more and more people are turning to AI for advice. ChatGPT’s new voice interface, Advanced Voice Mode, allows users to speak out loud and converse with a chatbot as they would with another human — but is it really as seamless as a chat with a friend? Bilawal runs a series of experiments with Advanced Voice Mode to test the limits of this new technology and its potential uses, from weighing the pros and cons of a cr...

Nov 12, 202431 min

The sweet future of vertical farming | Hiroki Koga

Can strawberries grown inside a building taste sweeter than those grown in a field? Farming entrepreneur Hiroki Koga explores how his team is combining solar-powered vertical farms with AI, robotics and indoor bee colonies to grow delicious strawberries year-round — and how this practice, if widely adopted, could deliver a harvest of benefits for the future of food. After the talk, Sherrell dives deeper into the impact of vertical farming. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out o...

Nov 08, 202413 min

The TED AI Show: How AI is changing national security w/ Kathleen Fisher

We’ve had conversations about AI’s online influence on politics, from deepfakes to misinformation. But AI can also have profound effects on hardware – especially when it comes to national security and military capabilities like weapons and stealth technologies. Kathleen Fisher is an office director at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency tasked with the research and development of emerging technologies for use by the U.S. military. Despite its bureaucratic name, DARPA is anything...

Nov 05, 202455 min

Could we build a miniature sun on Earth? | George Zaidan

Stars have cores hot and dense enough to force atomic nuclei together, forming larger, heavier nuclei in a process known as fusion. In this process, the mass of the end products is slightly less than the mass of the initial atoms. But that “lost” mass doesn’t disappear — it’s converted to energy ... a lot of energy. So, can we harness this energy to power the world? George Zaidan investigates. This TED-Ed lesson was directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio, narrated by George Zaidan and the music ...

Nov 01, 20247 min

The TED AI Show: How open-source AI will reshape power dynamics in tech w/ Hugging Face CSO Thomas Wolf

Many people associate innovation with secrecy—privately toiling away on a project until you're ready to share it with the world. While that may work for some, there's a benefit to putting all your cards on the table. Bilawal sits down for a conversation with Thomas Wolf, whose company Hugging Face pivoted from privately building an AI chatbot to sharing all of its knowledge with a growing online community. Thomas discusses the history of Hugging Face, why embracing open source development has sh...

Oct 29, 202440 min

Can AI preserve your most precious memories? | Pau Aleikum Garcia

“Memories are the architects of our identity,” says technologist Pau Aleikum Garcia, but they’re not permanent. Photos can be lost amid political unrest or natural disaster, while illnesses like Alzhemier’s can rob people of their past. He puts forward a novel solution — “synthetic memories,” or dreamlike visualizations of long-gone moments created through generative AI — and explores how it could reconnect families or even enhance cognitive abilities. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forwar...

Oct 25, 202413 min

The TED AI Show: How AI is changing who gets hired – and who doesn’t w/ Hilke Schellmann

From vetting resumes to screening candidates, many employers are using AI tools to identify top talent. But what happens when companies start relying on AI to help them decide who to hire or promote…and who to fire? Bilawal speaks with journalist Hilke Schellmann, whose research on the rapidly growing use of AI in the workplace highlights where algorithms are helping – and hurting – business. Hilke shares the surprising (and not surprising) ways AI works in the hiring process, and argues that tr...

Oct 22, 202439 min

Time traveling with AI to connect with lost loved ones | Amy Kurzweil

What if AI could bring the past to life? Cartoonist Amy Kurzweil shares how she helped train an AI chatbot on her late grandfather’s archives, allowing her to connect with a family member she never met — and discover family history she never knew. Backed by her own original drawings, she reveals the profound impact art and AI can have in keeping memories alive. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Learn more about TED Membership here ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Oct 18, 202411 min

The TED AI Show: How Meta wants to shape our digital future with open source AI w/ Ragavan Srinivasan

Llama is Meta’s Large Language Model trained on over 15 trillion tokens of publicly available information. It’s available to anyone – from people making custom fan-made entertainment on a smartphone… to, potentially, complex projects that may not have the public’s well-being in mind. So if Llama is such a widely available and powerful product, why is Meta releasing it – for free? Bilawal chats with Meta’s own Vice President of Product, Ragavan Srinivasan, to discuss the pressing questions around...

Oct 15, 202450 min

The invisible networks shaping your everyday life | Deb Chachra

The basic infrastructure that controls plumbing, electricity and more is vital to your individual agency, says engineering professor Deb Chachra. She offers a crash course on how these systems connect to shape our lives — and suggests some key improvements for providing long-term, sustainable energy to everyone. After the talk, Sherrell reflects on how these solutions, if widely implemented, could transform lives across the world. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey...

Oct 11, 202417 min

The TED AI Show: Is Google’s reign over? The future of AI search w/ Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas

Whether finding a restaurant or fact-checking a new claim, search engines are one of the main avenues we use to navigate the world. So why are modern engines so clunky and frustrating – and how is AI already changing the infrastructure we use to access information on the internet? Bilawal sits down with CEO of Perplexity AI Aravind Srinivas to discuss how we got to a world with too many links, and what the future may hold for your experience on the web. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forwa...

Oct 08, 202436 min

The innovators building Africa's thriving tech scene | Peace Itimi

“A new reality has emerged, one where ambitious Africans are writing their own stories as builders and as innovators,” says business storyteller Peace Itimi. Taking us inside Africa’s booming tech scene, she highlights the trailblazing entrepreneurs and startups reshaping Africa's economy through innovation and ambition. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Learn more about TED Membership here ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Oct 04, 20249 min

The TED AI Show: How AI will transform dubbing in Hollywood w/ Scott Mann

If you've ever cringed at a poorly-dubbed film, you are not alone. That's why Scott Mann founded Flawless, a company that’s transforming the world of dubbing using AI. He talks with Bilawal about why good dubbing is essential for movie making and shares the mind-blowing technology that not only lets Robert DeNiro speak perfect Spanish, but radically changes how films might get made. The two also discuss what to keep in mind as creativity, industry, and AI technology continue to intertwine -- and...

Oct 01, 202441 min

The missing piece of the clean energy transition | Sheila Ngozi Oparaocha

The clean energy transition has a major blind spot, says energy equity expert Sheila Ngozi Oparaocha: it ignores millions of people without access to energy. Highlighting grassroots women's organizations leading the charge towards universal access, she makes a powerful call to prioritize gender equality in energy policies — and to create a sustainable future where no one is left in the dark. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Learn more about TED Membership here ...

Sep 27, 202413 min

The TED AI Show: The UN is speaking up about AI — here’s what they’re saying

AI is shaping every aspect of our lives — but only a handful of tech giants are having a say in what this technology can do. So what’s going on with world governments? Bilawal sits down with geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer to unpack the UN’s just-released plan for “Governing AI for Humanity,” a report that focuses on the urgent need to guide AI towards helping everyone – rather than the powerful few – thrive. Together, they explore the complexities of AI’s rapid growth on a worldwide scale and t...

Sep 24, 202454 min

The secret force for limitless energy? Lasers | Tammy Ma

In 2022, physicist Tammy Ma and the team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a scientific breakthrough decades in the making: fusion ignition, or the combining of two atoms to generate more energy out of a reaction than was put in — recreating on Earth the same process that powers the Sun. She explains how they used a giant laser (way, way bigger than you're thinking) to catalyze this reaction and shares a vision for how this technology could change the world by creating limitless...

Sep 20, 202415 min

The TED AI Show: Humanity’s first AI election w/ WIRED's Vittoria Elliott

2024 is the biggest election year in modern history, with over 50 countries going out to the polls across the globe. And artificial intelligence has fully seeped into global politics – from deepfakes to AI bots that can ingest thousands and thousands of documents to make policy decisions. Bilawal talks with journalist Vittoria Elliot, who’s been leading on WIRED’s AI Elections Projects, to discuss how AI is reshaping the political landscape in surprising ways. The two explore the good, the bad, ...

Sep 17, 202439 min

The satellite helping slow climate change — right now | Millie Chu Baird

Meet MethaneSAT: the satellite circling Earth right now to track global emissions from methane: a highly potent, short-term greenhouse gas. Environmental advocate Millie Chu Baird details the heat-trapping side effects of a planet full of methane — and explains why understanding where it comes from and taking steps to reduce it is the single most important thing we can do to affect climate change in our lifetimes. MethaneSAT is part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund ...

Sep 13, 202411 min

The TED AI Show: Can AI read your mind? The battle for your brain w/ Nita Farahany

Imagine a world where your thoughts are no longer private – where employers, friends, and even companies can see, hack, or exploit your thinking. According to ethicist Nita Farahany, that reality is closer than you think. Nita and Bilawal discuss the rapidly advancing field of neurotechnology and its potential to completely transform our everyday lives, from tools that could help you deeply understand your health to tech that could manipulate your dreams. Nita also shares why we need to protect ...

Sep 10, 202435 min

Quantum computers aren't what you think — they're cooler | Hartmut Neven

Quantum computers obtain superpowers by tapping into parallel universes, says Hartmut Neven, the founder and lead of Google Quantum AI. He explains how this emerging tech can far surpass traditional computers by relying on quantum physics rather than binary logic, and shares a roadmap to build the ultimate quantum computer. Learn how this fascinating and powerful tech can help humanity take on seemingly unsolvable problems in medicine, sustainable energy, AI, neuroscience and more. Want to help ...

Sep 06, 202412 min

The TED AI Show: Can AI predict (and control) the weather? w/ Dion Harris and Tapio Schneider

Cutting-edge technology and vast amounts of data are revolutionizing climate modeling with unprecedented accuracy. So could AI be the crystal ball we need to predict —and even control— Earth's climate? Bilawal sits with Dion Harris, the head of data center product marketing at NVIDIA, and climate physicist Tapio Schneider to discuss how technology could reshape our approach to climate change and influence global decision-making. The three also dive into how AI could help us make hyper-local clim...

Sep 03, 202437 min

AI that connects the digital and physical worlds | Anima Anandkumar

While language models may help generate new ideas, they cannot attack the hard part of science, which is simulating the necessary physics," says AI professor Anima Anandkumar. She explains how her team developed neural operators — AI trained on the finest details of the real world — to bridge this gap, sharing recent projects ranging from improved weather forecasting to cutting-edge medical device design that demonstrate the power of AI with universal physical understanding. Want to help shape T...

Aug 30, 202412 min

The TED AI Show: Sal Khan says AI won’t destroy education -- but there’s a catch

Cheating has never been easier with the rise of AI like ChatGPT. It's definitely something to worry about, but what do we know about the upsides of AI in education? Khan Academy founder Sal Khan says education won't destroy our kids' brains, but we have to integrate AI the right way. After launching a new chatbot, Khanmigo, Sal's found that AI opens up opportunities for students to learn in ways they couldn't before, leaving room for more creativity, deeper thinking, and gained perspective. Sam ...

Aug 27, 202436 min

Next up for AI? Dancing robots | Catie Cuan

Would you tango with a robot? Inviting us into the fascinating world of dancing machines, robot choreographer Catie Cuan highlights why teaching robots to move with grace, intention and emotion is essential to creating AI-powered machines we will want to welcome into our daily lives. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Learn more about TED Membership here ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Aug 23, 202412 min

How you could see inside your body — with a micro-robot | Alex Luebke and Vivek Kumbhari

Would you swallow a micro-robot? In a gutsy demo, physician Vivek Kumbhari navigates Pillbot, a wireless, disposable robot swallowed onstage by engineer Alex Luebke, modeling how this technology can swiftly provide direct visualization of internal organs. Learn more about how micro-robots could move us past the age of invasive endoscopies and open up doors to more comfortable, affordable medical imaging. After the talk, Sherrell reflects on how these kinds of innovations could impact the future ...

Aug 16, 202412 min

Your right to repair AI systems | Rumman Chowdhury

For AI to achieve its full potential, non-experts need to contribute to its development, says Rumman Chowdhury, CEO and cofounder of Humane Intelligence. She shares how the right-to-repair movement of consumer electronics provides a promising model for a path forward, with ways for everyone to report issues, patch updates or even retrain AI technologies. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Learn more about TED Membership here ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

Aug 09, 202412 min

How AI could save (not destroy) education | Sal Khan

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen. This week we're revisiting a talk where he shares the opportunities he sees for students and educators to collaborate with AI tools — including the potential of a personal AI tutor for every student and an AI teaching assistant for every teacher — and demos some exciting new features for their educational chatbot, Khanmigo. Want to help shape TED...

Aug 02, 202416 min

How to govern AI — even if it's hard to predict | Helen Toner

No one truly understands AI, not even experts, says Helen Toner, an AI policy researcher and former board member of OpenAI. But that doesn't mean we can't govern it. She shows how we can make smart policies to regulate this technology even as we struggle to predict where it's headed — and why the right actions, right now, can shape the future we want. After the talk, Sherrell expands on what’s needed to ensure that AI aligns with the best interests of humanity, without stifling innovation. Want ...

Jul 26, 202416 min

12 predictions for the future of technology | Vinod Khosla

Techno-optimist Vinod Khosla believes in the world-changing power of "foolish ideas." He offers 12 bold predictions for the future of technology — from preventative medicine to car-free cities to planes that get us from New York to London in 90 minutes — and shows why a world of abundance awaits. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Learn more about TED Membership here ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Jul 19, 202411 min
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